Magic as a performing art has existed all over the world for thousands of years. The modern style of magic performance was invented by Jean Eugène Robert-Houdin in Paris in the 1840s, and furher developed by Harry Houdini (who chose his stage name after Robert-Houdin) in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It encompasses sleight-of-hand and misdirection, careful and creative costuming and set design, the manipulation of props and stage apparatus, escapology, and other related skills used to impart the effect of witnessing an impossible or supernatural event. Also included in the genre is Mentalism, which includes mind-reading, fortune-telling, and other similar tricks. Magic performances range from close-up magic, performed with a minimum of props and in close proximity to the audience, to huge stage productions using elaborate sets and apparatus.